Blueberry plants produce small sweet edible fruits. They produce fruits in a cluster form. You can easily grow blueberry from seeds. But first, you need to prepare them for planting.
Blueberries grow well in potting and acidic soil. They take more time when you grow blueberry from seeds. But the advantage of planting through seeds is that the plant grows stronger, harder, and away from diseases.
Prepare seeds:
You can plant the seeds directly from the grocer and existing bush for planting but it is not the best way to get a good result. If you want to get better results, firstly prepare the seeds for planting.
Take some blueberries and mash them in a blender or bowl, with water. After mashing, the seeds will sink to the bottom. Collect the seeds and cover them with a wet paper towel, put them in the refrigerator for 90 days. After 90 days the seeds are ready for planting.
Planting:
After 90 days the seeds are ready for planting. You should plant the seeds in dampened sphagnum peat moss in a seed tray and cover them with ¼ inch soil. Give water in a moist form.
Blueberry plants take time to grow. They sprout after 6 to 8 weeks. However, some seeds germinate after 3 months. After planting put them in front of a window that receives a good amount of sunlight.
Re-potting:
When the blueberry seedlings are 5, 6 inches tall in height then they are ready for transplanting. After transplant keeps them in bright light and warm conditions. Give liquid fertilizers after two, three weeks.
After two years the bush plant will be (31-61 cm) tall in height. The bush seed plants give fruit after 2nd year.
How to care for Blueberry plants?
Soil :
High bush blueberry plants require a soil PH of 4.0-5.2. The acidic, organic, well-drained, and moist soil is best for blueberries. The blueberry plants are happily grown in acidic soil, if you have no acidic soil then, firstly you should prepare the soil.
You can easily make your soil acidic by adding sulfur or elemental sulfur in pill form. You can also add wet peat moss, organic mulch, and well-aged sawdust in the soil to increase the organic materials and acidity of the soil. In this way, the plant grows well and produces immediate fruits.
Space and Plant Your Blueberries:
In most regions blueberries should be planted in autumn and spring. When your plants are mature then it is time to plant them in your garden. Keep the distance between plants 2 to 2.5 feet.
You can keep the distance 6 feet so that the plant grows individually. If you want blueberry plants in rows, then you should space the plants 8 to 10 feet.
Pollination:
When the blueberries do cross-pollination you get more yield. For cross-pollination, you should plant 2,3 types of blueberries. In this way, you get a healthy, sweet, and large amount of yield. When the blueberry bushes are self-pollinating they produce less yield.
Pruning maintenance:
Pruning is best for plants. You should prune the extra and damaged bushes of the blueberry. Remove those branches which are crossing to each other. Blueberry stems have a short life period after production.
They produce high amounts of fruits in 6 years. After 6 years the stems are weak and produce a little number of fruits so you should prune the old stems. In this way, you can make the place for new stems.
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Use mulch:
Blueberry bush grows in well-drained, moist, and highly organic soil. You can use mulch around the plants for healthy growth. Mulch provides nutrients to the soil, in this way they produce more yields.
Fertilizer:
When the plants of blueberry are immature they need no fertilizer but when they become mature you should give fertilizer according to their requirements. You should give fertilizer to blueberry bushes at the start of spring and the end of spring. Always give a high amount of water after fertilizer.
Watering:
Blueberry bushes use more water in every weather. In the early stages of growth give more water so that the plant makes its roots properly. When the blueberry bushes produce fruits you should give water regularly in the summer season.
Those plants which are grown in containers use a specific amount of water so, be careful when you give water to them.
Fruiting:
In the early years, blueberry bushes produce less yield. But if you give more attention and give its feed, it will give more fruits. You should cover the blueberry with a net so that the birds are not damaging your fruits. You should cut the plant fruits when they will have large, ripe, and deep purple colors.
